At the start of the MHR Radio Podcast, I asked Ian a very important question; Will the Denver Broncos ruin Peyton Manning’s celebration the way they ruined Mike Shanahan’s?
When the Washington Football Team comes to Mile High Stadium the Broncos will be attempting to end a four game losing streak. And now there is turmoil all over Broncos Country about what direction the franchise needs to go.
Questions about Vic Fangio’s ability to lead this team have grown louder. The defensive struggles have been baffling. Fangio is supposed to be a defensive guru. Obviously, injuries have been a bit of problem, but the expectation is that a Fangio defense should be the strength of the team. From the way they looked against the Cleveland Brown practice squad, it’s hard to argue that to be the case.
Some of the struggles can be explained away. Being down several linebackers will take its toll on the outcome of the game. However, the defensive line has been porous at times. Players like Shelby Harris, Dre’mont Jones, Mike Purcell, DeShawn Williams, and the rest of the defensive front have struggled to get any push up front. They are not having much of an impact, while having been touted as a strength heading into the start of the season.
Another strength that has gone missing is the secondary. Kyle Fuller lost his starting job because poor play. Justin Simmons has not played up to the cost of his contract. Patrick Surtain II has struggled to make tackles. The secondary has been on the wrong end of too many big plays this season.
The failures of the defense are made even worse by the fact that the Broncos offense is struggling. The defense was supposed to carry the offense through rough patches. Instead, the defense has disappeared in the big moments.
On top of the defensive issues, Fangio’s handling of the Teddy Bridgewater injury exacerbated the situation. Bridgewater claimed to be only 70-75% against the Browns. Why would Fangio put him out there in that scenario? It seems like the coaching staff is so afraid of putting Drew Lock in the game that they are willing to risk the longterm health of their starting QB to avoid going to their backup.
Along with the questionable decisions about playing their injured QB, Pat Shurmur has been a shade south of awful in the play calling department. In the last four games Denver has struggled to put points on the board. The running game has been ignored even though Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon have been very good.
The RBs have been good behind an offensive line that has regressed since 2020. Every player on the offensive line seems to be struggling to find their form. With Mike Munchak still coaching up the O-line, the hope is that they can turn things around.
As of now, the Broncos are a team struggling to find their identity. Sound familiar? Perhaps the Washington Football Team will be the remedy to get them back on track.
With PFM in the house, we can only hope they don’t do to him what they did to Shanny.
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